Doing that will help greatly in reducing your consumption and NAL extinction will work just fine. Isn't that where you want to be anyway ?

week4 update

another uptick in consumption I'm still being fully compliant - the thought to do otherwise hasn't even crossed my mind. I've had a few (for me) moderate-ish days where I've started later & had a limited amount of AL in the house, & been quite happy to sip a few drinks over the course of the evening. the other days I've drunk, to quote Guapo, mindlessly. I do eventually get bored of not getting the buzz & wobble off to bed, but it takes me an awful lot of drinks to get to that point. extinction bursts maybe? I really hope so ...

overall I'm still very hopefully & not too disappointed. I'm still doing better than I was pre-TSM - no black-/passing-outs since I started - & I am seeing an effect, it's just taking a while to worm its way down into my subconscious

-badger

Your doing great badger1 since you are only on week 4 we can't expect miracles. Like they say Nal+Drink+PATIENCE = Success
Hopefully we are both getting extinction bursts and I am much farther into this than you so that would be great for you so soon.
Keep positive and Nal ON!

I like the elevator analogy of an extinction burst.

You go to work ever day and push the button and the elevator takes you to your office on the 10th floor. One day you push the button and nothing happens. Do you calmly give up? Of course not! You push the button again, and then again, finally after you have pushed it repeatedly and cussed it out, you give up and take the stairs.

I'd say yes Badger, your numbers look like they could well be an extinction burst. I think I finished one last week.

just a quick check-in. my 5th full week isn't up til tomorrow, but I think there's something going on then ...

not a full week, so no numbers yet, however it looks like being similar to week 4. I've been to a few xmas parties & haven't gone crazy - I'm usually quite restrained in public, but then continue drinking when I get home. I'm still getting through a similar amount to my pre-TSM numbers, but somehow the craziness of thinking has gone

I haven't put much(/any) effort into moderation to be honest, but I'm definitely feeling different about AL, so I'm just letting the science work its magic for now. once xmas is over I still have another week off work, so I'll push for some AF days then. one of my major things about being AF is that I sleep *terribly*, but I'll have a run of commitment-free days where is won't matter if I'm sleeping odd hours whilst trying to get back into a proper pattern without (much) AL

one slightly odd thing I've noticed is that the Nal seems to be working better as time goes on - I still get a certain amount of relaxation from AL, but the buzz/euphoria is fully gone now. I wonder whether this is a psychosomatic thing - like you hear about people being given AL-free drinks without them knowing, & still acting drunk - which has worn off. in any case, I pretty much know consciously now that I'm not going to get anything (except maybe sleep) from having more than a couple of drinks ... just need the subconscious to catch up, which I have faith it will

anyway, I'll stop rambling. hope everyone has a great xmas & as little as they want to drink

-badger

Perfect badger, TSM is starting to show you signs. The craziness in your thinking while drinking is major. Much more important then the units consumed or af days experienced. Your freedom will come from a area you know nothing about. Keep the course, trust the science and you will see.

bit of an update ...

first off, I've changed my signature units to US units/drinks - most people on here seem to use them, so hopefully a bit clearer, & it looks less scary than three-figure UK units

another uptick this week, but I'm not overly concerned what with xmas. I've also had a stinking cold for the last four days & have had nothing to do except stay in, feeling like crap & drink, which hasn't really helped

there is something I have noticed which has rather intrigued me. I *always* used to have the most awful sweaty, shaky hangovers, with my anxiety levels through the roof pre-Nal, but I'm just not getting them any more. don't get me wrong, I still feel rough, dehydrated, etc. but nothing like before. I had always understood that DT-like symptoms were down to a rebound in GABA - ie a separate brain chemical to dopamine - so am a bit mystified, although definitely not complaining. I'm not sure whether this might have any bearing on the likelihood of TSM working for me - ie the addicted via GABA/dopamine question - would be interested to hear any thoughts

once I get out of the current cold fug I'm going to push for some AF days to get over the "no drinking today - what I am I going to do with my time?!" hump. also to try to stop just drinking out of habit - I don't get any more effect from two bottles of wine as two glasses these days, but unfortunately no-one's told my subconscious that still ...

happy new year everyone

-badger

week 7 update. still compliant, but still drinking way too much - more out of habit than anything else really. my peak daily consumption is down, but I'm consistently drinking more than previously on all the other days

now xmas is over & I'm back in the office a few days a week my consumption should come down - I just can't cope with being hungover at work, so it's a good incentive to cut right down. I may even grab a few AF days, which should help break the habit side of things. hopefully the weather will pick up soon so I can get out & do something other than drink

-badger

You've reach, what I found to be the hard stage. It's all about keeping the faith over the coming weeks. It's my 2nd AF day in a row since 2013 and I'm feeling ok. Like you I wait for the long winter nights to go away and it will be better to do some other activities for a change. Unless we all hide away in nigeirs backpack and go to New Zealand.

week 8 update:

a much better week last week. I was generally calmer & able to be a bit more mindful about things. I've re-started some meditation stuff that I've found useful in the past. no stupid 10+ units days & more sensible during the week as I was in the office a few days. the weather was nice - if cold - over the weekend, so was able to get out & do things instead of staying home drinking. I'm generally feeling much happier about things, not really forcing anything but the consumption is coming down of its own accord



-badger